This page outlines the use of the simple past tense in Brazilian Portuguese. The simple past tense is also called the preterite, or pretérito perfeito (past perfect) tense.
There are in fact several ways to refer to something that happened in the past in Brazilian Portuguese. The simple past tense is used to refer to past actions or events that have already happened and have been completed (e.g. I delivered the parcel). It is the easiest and most common past tense in Brazilian Portuguese and the one you should learn first.
Conjugating regular verbs in the simple past tense
If you’ve been following the learning path set out on this website, you’ll have seen how to conjugate verbs in the present tense in Brazilian Portuguese. Just like the present tense, verbs in the past tense are also conjugated in Brazilian Portuguese and regular verbs that end in ar, er and ir follow specific patterns of conjugation.
Endings for regular ar verbs
| English pronoun | Portuguese pronoun | Verb ending | Example (comprar – to buy) |
| I | eu | ei | eu comprei |
| you | você | ou | você comprou |
| he/she | ele/ela | ou | ele/ela comprou |
| we | nós | amos | nós compramos |
| they | eles/elas | aram | eles/elas comparam |
Example:
| we played football in the park | jogamos futebol no parque |
Note that the pronoun is sometimes omitted because the conjugation indicates who is performing the action.
Endings for regular er verbs
| English pronoun | Portuguese pronoun | Verb ending | Example (comer – to eat) |
| I | eu | i | eu comi |
| you | você | eu | você comeu |
| he/she | ele/ela | eu | ele/ela comeu |
| we | nós | emos | nós comemos |
| they | eles/elas | eram | eles/elas comeram |
Example:
| I drank orange juice | eu bebi suco de laranja |
Endings for regular ir verbs
| English pronoun | Portuguese pronoun | Verb ending | Example (abrir – to open) |
| I | eu | i | eu abri |
| you | você | iu | você abriu |
| he/she | ele/ela | iu | ele/ela abriu |
| we | nós | imos | nós abrimos |
| they | eles/elas | iram | eles/elas abriram |
Example:
| you left early | você saiu mais cedo |
Conjugation of common irregular verbs in the simple past tense
As with the present tense, there are irregular verbs in the simple past tense that do not follow specific patterns of conjugation and need to be memorised.
By way of example, see below for how to conjugate the irregular verb ter (to have) in the simple past tense:
| I had | eu tive |
| you had | você teve |
| he/she had | ele/ela teve |
| we had | nós tivemos |
| they had | eles/elas tiveram |
Example:
| he had a great idea | ele teve uma ótima ideia |
See here for a list of common irregular verbs in Brazilian Portuguese.
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